This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner made people remove their chapeaus and toss them onto a sheet of frozen water to delay a sporting match.

The Prospect of the Week for December 3 is … Cedric Paquette, center, Blainville-Boisbriand (QMJHL – Canada)

Paquette started the year off on the wrong foot when he would frequently retaliate to opposing players’ efforts to get under his skin. The final straw for the coaching staff was when the 6-1, 200-pound center took a bad penalty away from the play in the closing minutes of a tie game, resulting in an Armada loss. The team suspended Paquette for one game and removed his alternate captain’s letter from his jersey.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner, as we say on Twitter, “is good at the hockey.”

The Prospect of the Week for November 26 is … Tyler Johnson, center, Syracuse (AHL – USA)

Tyler Johnson doesn’t get the most attention on the Syracuse roster, that title may go to everything-award winner Cory Conacher, top AHL defenseman Mark Barberio, or even everything-championship winner Dustin Tokarski. Such is the “first world problem” Tyler Johnson and his fans must endure with the near embarrassment of riches on the Lightning farm right now.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner scored five goals in three games.

The Prospect of the Week for November 12 is … Alex Hutchings, winger, Florida (ECHL – USA)

While many focusing on how the NHL lockout is affecting NHL players, coaches, administration, and even arena workers, the work stoppage is having a drastic effect on minor league players. Players like Alex Hutchings.

This week we continue our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on and off the ice.

This week’s winner is watched closer than any other Lightning prospect.

The Prospect of the Week for October 30 is … Slater Koekkoek, defenseman, Peterborough (OHL – Canada)

The only reaction stronger than the surprise many Lightning prospect fans felt when the Lightning chose Slater Koekkoek with the 10th overall pick in June’s draft was the concern they felt when the 2-way defenseman went down in his first preseason game.

In other words, though the pick may have surprised them, they’re behind him 100 percent.

Despite winning a Calder Cup last season, Lightning goaltending prospect Dustin “Tic” Tokarski wasn’t guaranteed anything when he moved with Tampa Bay’s affiliation from Norfolk to Syracuse. Even with a Calder Cup, World Juniors gold medal, Memorial Cup, Ed Chynoweth Cup (WHL), and Telus Cup (Canadian Midget-level hockey) on his resume, the Saskatchewan native had to outplay former Lightning first rounder and Finnish import Riku Helenius for the right to start the Crunch’s season-opening game.

The American Hockey League announced today that Syracuse Crunch left wing Cory Conacher was selected the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 14, 2012. Conacher was also named our prospect of the week here at Bolt Prospects. Since the AHL candidates for their award far outnumber the number of prospects in the Lightning organization, we listed the AHL’s award first. On pure importance, value, and prestige, ours would be listed first, of course. But we’re nice.

#deathtaxesConacher

Conacher picked up where he left off last season when he was named the AHL’s Most Valuable Player and Most Outstanding Rookie. During the league’s opening weekend, Conacher potted two goals and added three assists. His center, Tyler Johnson, had three goals, and his opposite winger, Ondrej Palat, had three helpers over the weekend.

Last season we introduced our Prospect of the Week award, an honor (virtually) given to one Tampa Bay Lightning prospect for their recent contributions on the ice.

While Cory Conacher won nearly every AHL award in which he was eligible last year, plus a Calder Cup, we’re fairly certain he’s got a printed copy of his Bolt Prospects Prospect of the Week write-ups stashed in his hockey bag to remind him what can come from dedication and hard work. In the paraphrased words of Ron Burgundy, we don’t know how to put this, but this award is a kind of a big deal.

Now, whether or not the award smells of rich mahogany is up for debate, but we like it regardless.

At any rate, this week’s BP Prospect of the Week award – the first of the season – goes to … Andrei Vasilevski, goaltender, Ufa Jr. (MHL - Russia).